Method for automatically inserting enclosures into a receptacle and a device for carrying out the method

ABSTRACT

In a method for automatically inserting enclosures (15) into a receptacle (10) which is intended to accommodate a principal goods item (14) a high degree of speed and flexibility in the context of commissioning is thereby achieved in that the receptacle (10) is moved past a stationary inserting station in a transportation direction (13), and that on passing the inserting station at least one enclosure (15) is inserted from the inserting station into the open receptacle (10).

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Swiss Patent Applications 00300/17, filed 13 Mar. 2017 and 01202/17,filed 2 Oct. 2017, the priority documents corresponding to thisinvention, to which a foreign priority benefit is claimed under Title35, United States Code, Section 119, and their entire teachings areincorporated, by reference, into this specification.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention is related to the field of the commissioning/orderpicking of goods.

Furthermore it concerns a device for executing this method.

Discussion of Related Art

As a result of the continuing expansion of e-commerce the automaticcommissioning of goods and packages is gaining an ever increasingimportance. In the context of automatic commissioning, if an order isreceived for particular goods or merchandise, the ordered goods aretaken out of a warehouse or from another storage facility, broughttogether with orders of corresponding product groups, packaged ready fordispatch and then dispatched to go on their way to thepurchaser/recipient.

In most cases enclosures which are also to be sent with the goods areadded before the final packaging, and can comprise package inserts,operating instructions, product samples, prospectuses, flyers, CDs orthe like.

In order to be able to automate the process of adding the enclosureswithin the commissioning process, methods and devices must be providedwhich make possible the addition of such enclosures to the principalgoods item in an uncomplicated, flexible, quick and safe manner.

A plurality of suggestions have been made in the past as to how toinsert enclosures into goods packaging.

DE 1586104 A1 reveals a device for placing prospectuses, collectors'cards or similar sheet-type contents in carton packaging, which devicehas pivotable suckers controlled about an axis and a stack containingthe prospectuses, wherein the pivotable suckers are associated with astationary guide rail located on the head of the passing carton, thelower edge of which guide rail only grips the narrow-side sealing tabsand runs parallel to the carton conveyor system and has an upward facingbow-shaped recess, which is mainly located in the pivot arc of thesuckers.

DE 3835838 A1 reveals a packaging machine for cartons made from aprefabricated folded-flat blank which, whilst forming a cardboard sleevewhich is polygonal, in particular square, in cross-section and open ontwo sides, is erected, filled and closed by folding over folding tabs,wherein a carton blank can be inserted into the open cardboard sleeve onat least one side, which can be removed from a magazine and insertedinto the cardboard sleeve in an upright position by means of an insertdispenser.

DE 3118209 C2 discloses a device for feeding in prospectuses ahead of aproduct chain provided with product buckets which accommodatesuccessively arranged products such as tubes, bottles, blister packagingor the like in receptacles such as cardboard boxes, to be insertedtogether with the prospectuses, wherein the prospectuses are deliveredbetween conveyor belts and, before the insertion of the products, areheld in front of the conveyor belts, mainly vertically, in prospectuspincers by means of a prospectus pincer chain arranged beneath theproduct chain, wherein the prospectus pincer chain operates in aprospectus pick-up area beside the product chain.

EP 0623516 A1 discloses a device for adding packaging enclosures such asprospectuses, package inserts or the like to packaged goods comprisingcontents such as tubes, bottles, piles of blister packaging or the likewhich are fed into a product chain of a packaging machine, which areinserted into packaging receptacles, in particular folding boxes, whichare fed into a packaging receptacle chain of the packaging machine, witha packaging enclosure conveyor which transports the packagingenclosures, which are folded into a strip, between two continuousconveyor belts which run alongside each other along their transport pathas far as a dispensing mouth at which the conveyor belts are deflectedinto opposite directions to one another by deflection rollers, and witha continuously revolving clamp-pincer chain with clamp pincers eachgripping one of the packaging enclosure strips at the strip end andfeeding them into the packaged goods chain, which clamp pincers runalong a mainly vertical transfer plane when transferring the packagingenclosure strips, wherein, on being transferred, the packaging enclosurestrips are orientated so that their strip surfaces are also parallel tothe transfer plane and lie lengthways mainly across the direction oftravel of the clamp pincers, wherein a collecting pocket is provided foreach of the packaging enclosure strips leaving the dispensing mouth ofthe packaging enclosure conveyor which holds the packaging enclosurestrip in position in the prescribed location for the transfer by theclamp pincer and which protrudes lengthways out of the packagingenclosure strip into the path of the clamp pincers with at least thestrip end to be gripped by the clamp pincers which take the strip endwith them in the opening of the pincer mouth which faces forwards intheir direction of travel, and wherein furthermore the collecting pocketis open in the direction of travel of the clamp pincers for the releaseof the packaging enclosure strip gripped by the clamp pincers, andwherein the dispensing mouth of the packaging enclosure conveyor islocated above this pocket opening, wherein the deflection rollers of itsconveyor belts are arranged on the same side of the transfer plane at adistance from that plane which allows the packaging enclosure stripscarried by the clamp pincers to pass by.

EP 1050472 A2 describes a packaging machine with a revolving prospectusdelivery device which has a plurality of holders each for accommodatinga prospectus and with which the prospectus can be positioned in front ofa product bucket of a product chain, and with a supply device with whichthe prospectus can be inserted into the holder of the prospectusdelivery device in a transfer area, wherein there is a stopper foraligning the prospectus in the transfer area, wherein the stopper isformed on a continuously revolving stopper belt which runs in thetransfer area at a distance from and parallel to the prospectus deliverydevice.

WO 03091113 A1 discloses a device for feeding package inserts from aprospectus device into a packaged goods conveyor device (13), with acontinuous conveyor chain on which gripper elements are arranged spacedat equal distances apart for the respective package inserts, wherein theconveyor chain runs parallel to the packaged goods conveyor device alongone part of its conveying route and is driven in synchronization withthe packaged goods conveyor device, and wherein the package inserts aresupplied from the prospectus device to a transfer area which is arrangedabove and to the side of the packaged goods conveyor device, wherein theconveyor chain is a flexible conveyor chain which swivelled from theplane adjacent to the conveyor route of the packaged goods conveyordevice in the direction of the transfer area and that the conveyor chainis directed all the way into the transfer area via a section extendingfrom the level of the packaged goods conveyor device up to the height ofthe transfer area.

However, these well-known methods and devices are generally not veryflexible, are mechanically complex and are limited in the achievablespeeds.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Thus it is an aim of the invention to specify a method for automaticallyinserting enclosures into a receptacle which is provided for receiving aprincipal item of goods, which method makes possible a safe, quick andflexible insertion and is easily integrated into a goods commissioningsystem.

A further aim of the invention is to create a device for carrying outthe method.

The aims will be achieved by the features of the independent claims.Preferred embodiments are given in the dependent claims and in thepresent description and the figures.

The method according to the invention for automatically insertingenclosures into a receptacle which is provided for receiving a principalitem of goods includes an open receptacle moved past a stationaryinserting station in a transport direction and that, on passing theinserting station, at least one enclosure is inserted from the insertingstation into the open receptacle.

Receptacle is understood to mean a container, in particular a cardboardbox or a package. The receptacle can be a tub, a container or also abag. The receptacle may be already formed so that after being filled itcan be sealed and sent to the recipient as a package. However, thereceptacle may also be a plastic container which is only used for thecommissioning of the principal goods item and the enclosures, is emptiedat a downstream dispatching station and later re-used and deployed for anew commissioning process. In contrast, a letter or envelope into whichusually only very flat products and in particular printed products areinserted and which plays a role in the area of the postal service, isnot to be considered a receptacle for the purposes of the invention.

The principal goods can be made up of an individual or a number ofindividual articles, e.g. books, articles of clothing, day-to-dayarticles, foodstuffs, medicine, technical equipment, household articlesor similar merchandise.

An enclosure may be a flyer, a prospectus, a printed invoice or printedcover letter or operating instructions—flat printed products in general.However, it may also be a goods sample, a CD or some other assistanceitem which might or should be of interest to the recipient of the goods.

In one embodiment of the method according to the invention the at leastone enclosure can be moved along with the receptacle whilst beinginserted into the receptacle. Altogether, in this way a continuousprocess is achieved without the need for a complicated reciprocal motionand which is less mechanically burdensome. At the same time this form ofmethod makes higher processing speeds possible.

If, in the process, the receptacle is moved past the inserting stationat a pre-determined transport speed and, whilst being inserted, the atleast one enclosure is moved with it at a speed matching that of thereceptacle's transport speed, insertion performances, where theenclosure is a flat printed product of, for example, 2500 copies perhour are achievable.

It is particularly beneficial if the receptacle is moved past theinserting station on a transport plane, the receptacle is open at thetop and the at least one enclosure is inserted into the receptacle fromabove. In this way the insertion process is further simplified andaccelerated.

It is beneficial for the automatic commissioning of enclosures andprincipal goods if the insertion of the at least one enclosure iscarried out from a predetermined insertion height, receptacles ofdifferent heights are successively filled with at least one enclosure,and if the respective predetermined insertion heights are automaticallyset to the height of the receptacle to he filled. In this way a veryflexible commissioning process is achieved, since very differentpackages can be processed without further interventions.

In the process, the height of the receptacle to be filled can bedetermined before inserting the at least one enclosure. This can be doneby a suitable sensor which measures the height and, where necessary, thelateral dimensions of the incoming receptacles in front of the insertingstation and transmits the results to a controlled height-adjustingmeans. For example, vertical light barrier chains or distance sensors orcameras with appropriate image evaluation arranged above the transportpath can be considered as sensors for this purpose.

The insertion of the at least one enclosure can be carried out, inparticular, by means of an inserting body, wherein the setting of theinsertion height is undertaken at the inserting body. A local heightadjustment such as this is mechanically simple and safe and can reactquickly to different receptacle heights.

It is particularly advantageous here if the inserting body is arrangedabove the transport plane in a pivotable manner relative to thetransport plane and the setting of the insertion height is carried outby pivoting the inserting body. However, it is also possible to leave a(sloping) position of the inserting body unchanged and to carry out aheight adjustment by a telescopic change to the length of the insertingbody. In further embodiments a combined movement of the inserting bodycomprising a pivoting and a telescoping can be carried out in order toset the insertion height.

In one embodiment of the method the enclosure to be inserted isdispensed by a longitudinal dispensing tongue of the inserting body at afree end of the dispensing tongue, wherein the dispensing tongue ispivoted around a horizontal pivot axis in order to adjust the height ofthe free end.

In a further embodiment of the method the dispensing tongue pivotedand/or telescoped so that the height of the free end is adjusted along avertical path. Thus a situation can preferably be achieved where theenclosures are consistently inserted into the open receptacle in thesame place along the transport direction. For successive receptacles ofdifferent heights this offers the advantage of greater flexibility inthe insertion of the enclosures. In this way in particular the distancebetween the successive receptacles can be reduced which has a beneficialeffect on the delivery performance and delivery speed.

In one embodiment of the method the dispensing tongue has a first limband a second limb which are connected by a joint which defines a secondhorizontal pivot axis. Here the free end is arranged on the second limband is pivoted about the second horizontal pivot axis in order to adjustthe height, wherein the joint is pivoted about the first horizontalpivot axis. The dispensing tongue or the first and second limbs canpreferably carry out a combined pivoting motion, wherein the first limbcan be pivoted about the first horizontal pivot axis and the second limbcan be pivoted about the second horizontal axis by the joint and also,because of the connection to the first limb, about the first horizontalpivot axis.

The insertion of the at least one enclosure into the open receptaclepreferably occurs diagonally downwards in the transport direction. Inthis way a “sliding” insertion is possible which allows high speeds.

In bringing together principal goods and the enclosure(s) it is possiblethat the receptacle is initially filled with the principal goods itemand that the at least one enclosure is subsequently inserted into theopen receptacle. Thus the at least one enclosure can be placed on theinserted principal goods item.

However, it is also conceivable that the at least one enclosure isinitially inserted into the open receptacle and that subsequently thereceptacle is filled with the principal goods item.

Furthermore, several (similar or different) enclosures may of course beinserted into the receptacle. Thus, for example, operating instructions,invoices, prospectuses and goods samples may be grouped together into anenclosure pack and enclosed.

Such several enclosures may be inserted into the receptacle one afterthe other at different inserting stations.

However, it is also conceivable that the enclosures are initiallycollected into an enclosure pack and that the enclosure pack issubsequently inserted into the receptacle at one inserting station.

The invented device for carrying out the method according to theinvention includes a transportation device for transporting the openreceptacles on a transport plane in a transport direction at apredetermined transport speed, on which transport device at least oneinserting station is arranged which comprises an inserting body forinserting an enclosure in a receptacle which is moved past the insertingstation on the transport device.

The inserting body can, in particular, comprise a longitudinaldispensing tongue arranged above the transport device which dispensesthe enclosures to be inserted at a free end.

The dispensing tongue is preferably aligned parallel with the transportdevice and extends diagonally downwards in the transport direction insuch a way that the free end of the dispensing tongue is located at thebottom. This configuration is particularly easily adapted to thevariable heights of receptacles to be filled.

The free end of the dispensing tongue can then be designed as heightadjustable.

In particular, the dispensing tongue can be pivoted about a firsthorizontal pivot axis in order to adjust the height of the free end.This makes possible a motorized adjustment which can be controlledaccording to the height of the respective receptacle.

In one embodiment the dispensing tongue can be pivoted and/or telescopedin such a way that the height of the free end can be adjusted along avertical path. Thus a situation can preferably be achieved where theenclosures are consistently inserted into the open receptacle in thesame place along the transport direction. For successive receptacles ofdifferent heights this offers the advantage of greater flexibility inthe insertion of the enclosures.

The dispensing tongue can have pivotable and/or telescopic parts. Inparticular, the pivotable and/or telescopic parts can be set up in orderto perform a combined motion of the free end of the dispensing tongue inorder to adjust the insertion height.

In one embodiment the dispensing tongue has a first limb and a secondlimb which are connected by a joint which defines a second horizontalpivot axis. Thus the free end is arranged on the second limb and can bepivoted about the second horizontal pivot axis, wherein the joint can bepivoted about the first horizontal pivot axis.

The first limb is preferably arranged so that it can pivot about thefirst, preferably stationary, horizontal pivot axis. The dispensingtongue or the first and second limbs are preferably set up so as toperform a combined pivoting motion, wherein the first limb can bepivoted about the first horizontal pivot axis, and the second limb canbe pivoted about the second horizontal pivot axis by the joint and also,because of the connection to the first limb, about the first horizontalpivot axis.

The joint offers the advantage of an extra degree of freedom in themovement of the dispensing tongue, which increases the flexibility ofthe inserting process. In particular the combined pivoting motionpreferably makes it possible to achieve a situation where the height ofthe free end arranged on the second limb can be adjusted along avertical path so that the enclosures can for the most part be insertedinto the open receptacle in the same place along the transportdirection. In this way in particular there can be a smaller distancebetween successive receptacles of different heights which has a positiveeffect on the delivery performance and delivery speed.

For example, where there is a rigid dispensing tongue which can only bepivoted about one axis and there are successive receptacles of differentheights, minimum distances between the receptacles must normally beadhered to which take into account the pivot radius of the dispensingtongue. This is the case, for example, if a first receptacle with afirst height is followed by a second receptacle of a smaller secondheight: because of the pivot radius of the dispensing tongue, the firstreceptacle generally has a “pivot shadow”, so that the second receptaclemust be a minimum distance from the first receptacle which is biggerthan the “pivot shadow”.

In one embodiment, the device has a guide in which the free end of thesecond limb is guided along the vertical path in order to adjust theheight.

In one embodiment, the device has an inserting guide which is set up tocontrol the first and the second limb so that the dispensing tongueperforms a combined pivoting motion so that the height of the free endof the second limb is adjusted along a vertical path.

The first and the second limbs can comprise conveyor belts by means ofwhich the enclosures can be conveyed. In one embodiment the first and/orthe second limb can each have an upper and/or a lower conveyor,preferably comprising an upper and/or a lower conveyor belt, betweenwhich the enclosures can be conveyed. The enclosures can be conveyedbetween upper and lower conveyors by means of conveyor belts runningcounter to each other. The joint can have lower joints which connect theupper or lower conveyors of the first and the second limbs. The jointsor the lower joints can comprise deflection rollers. The conveyor beltsare preferably formed so as to run continuously over the joint or thelower joints. In a preferred embodiment a lower conveyor belt iscontinuously routed over the first and the second limb and/or an upperconveyor belt is continuously routed over the first and the second limb,so that the enclosures can be continuously conveyed between the lowerand the upper conveyor belt.

In further embodiments the dispensing tongue has further limbs andjoints which offers the advantage of increasing the degree of freedom ofthe inserting action.

In one embodiment, in order that the enclosures can be inserted into thereceptacle individually and at high speed via the inserting body, thereis a separator upstream of the inserting body which transfers individualenclosures into the inserting body.

There is preferably a bar feeder upstream of the separator which conveysenclosures for insertion to the separator. This type of bar feeder isknown from the print finishing process and has proven itself whereenclosures from a supply stack (bar) have to be transported to aseparator. At the same time they form enclosure storage which only hasto be filled with corresponding piles of enclosures at long intervals,so saving on personnel.

In particular the bar feeder can be arranged transversely to thetransport direction. This configuration makes possible a space savingarrangement of a number of inserting stations one after the other.

A high level of speed and flexibility are achieved if a number ofinserting stations are arranged one after another along the transportdirection and if each inserting station has its own inserting body.

However, it is also conceivable in other application scenarios that acollecting device is assigned to the inserting station which devicecompiles an enclosure pack of a number of enclosures by a collectionprocess and forwards this on to the inserting body.

In doing so, a number of placing stations for the enclosures can beassociated with the collecting device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is explained in more detail below by means of theexemplary embodiments together with the drawings.

FIG. 1(a) shows a schematic depiction in a first of a number of steps,(a) to (c), of an exemplary procedure for inserting an enclosure into areceptacle which already contains a principal goods item according to anexemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 1(b) shows a schematic depiction in a second of a number of steps,(a) to (c), of an exemplary procedure for inserting an enclosure into areceptacle which already contains a principal goods item according to anexemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 1(c) shows a schematic depiction in a third of a number of steps,(a) to (c), of an exemplary procedure for inserting an enclosure into areceptacle which already contains a principal goods item according to anexemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2(a) shows, analogously to FIG. 1, a schematic depiction in a firstof a number of steps, (a) to (c), of an exemplary procedure forinserting an enclosure into a receptacle before a principal goods itemis inserted according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2(b) shows, analogously to FIG. 1, a schematic depiction in asecond of a number of steps, (a) to (c), of an exemplary procedure forinserting an enclosure into a receptacle before a principal goods itemis inserted according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2(c) shows, analogously to FIG. 1, a schematic depiction in a thirdof a number of steps, (a) to (c), of an exemplary procedure forinserting an enclosure into a receptacle before a principal goods itemis inserted according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 shows a receptacle which in addition to the principal goods itemis successively filled with a number of different enclosures accordingto a further exemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 shows a receptacle which in addition to the principal goods itemis filled with a number of different enclosures side-by-side accordingto another exemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 shows a receptacle which in addition to the principal goods itemis filled with an enclosure pack according to a further exemplaryembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6(a) shows a three-dimensional representation of a simple exemplaryembodiment of an inserting station according to the invention with adispensing tongue which can be height-adjusted which is insertingenclosures one after another (a) to (c) into receptacles of differentheights;

FIG. 6(b) shows a three-dimensional representation of a simple exemplaryembodiment of an inserting station according to the invention with adispensing tongue which can be height-adjusted which is insertingenclosures one after another (a) to (c) into receptacles of differentheights;

FIG. 6(c) shows a three-dimensional representation of a simple exemplaryembodiment of an inserting station according to the invention with adispensing tongue which can be height-adjusted which is insertingenclosures one after another (a) to (c) into receptacles of differentheights;

FIG. 7 shows the block diagram of an inserting system according to anexemplary embodiment of the invention for the commissioning ofenclosures for corresponding principal goods items;

FIG. 8 shows a simplified inserting station working according to theinvention on which a separator for the enclosures is arranged laterallyand transversely to the transport direction;

FIG. 9 shows an inserting station based on FIG. 8 in which theenclosures are feed in by a lateral, transversely arranged bar feeder;

FIG. 10 shows an inserting plant working according to the invention witha number of independently working inserting stations arranged one afterthe other in the transport direction;

FIG. 11 shows an inserting plant working according to the invention witha collecting device for forming enclosure packs which are then insertedinto the receptacles being conveyed past;

FIG. 12a shows a lateral view of a further exemplary embodiment of aninserting station with a dispensing tongue which has a first limb and asecond limb which are connected by a joint; and

FIG. 12b shows a lateral view of the inserting station in FIG. 12awherein the height of a free end of the dispensing tongue is adjustedbecause of a receptacle of a different height.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Before later addressing exemplary embodiments of the technical devicesand installations which are suited and intended for realizing theinvention, there first follows an explanation, using FIGS. 1 to 5, ofthe inserting process itself connected with the invention by means ofsimplified diagrams.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic depiction in a number of steps, (a) to (c), ofan exemplary procedure for inserting an enclosure 15 into a receptaclewhich already contains a principal goods item 14 according to anexemplary embodiment of the invention. For simplicity the principalgoods item 14 is depicted as a compact self-contained block, but can bemade up of a number of similar or different articles. If the principalgoods item 14 concerns clothing items for example, the principal goodsitem 14 can comprise shirts, trousers, skirts, jackets or similar.

The principal goods item 14 is put into a receptacle 10, which in thisexample is open, and can be a cardboard box, a tub, a container or alsoa bag. The receptacle 10 which is symbolized by a rectangle in the FIG.1 can already be formed so that after being filled it is sealed and sentto the recipient as a package. The receptacle 10 can however also be aplastic container which is only used for the commissioning of theprincipal goods item 14 and enclosures 15, is emptied in a downstreamdispatch station and is later re-used and re-deployed for a newcommissioning process.

The receptacle 10 in FIG. 1(a) is already filled with the principalgoods item 14 introduced into its interior space 11 when it is movedpast an inserting station (not shown) on a transport plane 12 in atransport direction at a predetermined transport speed. Then, in FIG.1(b), on the way past the inserting station an enclosure 15 is insertedinto the receptacle 10 which is open at the top at a matching speed sothat it can be placed on the main goods item 14 in the interior space 11(FIG. 1(c)) of the receptacle 10. In doing so the insertion of theenclosure 15 preferably takes place diagonally from top to bottom in thetransport direction 13 so that the flat enclosure 15 first makes contactwith the principal goods item 14 with the lower downstream end, beforeit is fully laid down as in FIG. 1(c). The flat enclosure 15 in theexample shown can be a flyer, a prospectus, a printed invoice or aprinted cover letter. However, it can also be a goods sample, a CD oranother enclosure which might or should be of interest to the recipientof the principal goods item 14.

The process of filling the receptacle 10 can however also take place inthe reverse order as shown in FIG. 2. Here an enclosure 15 is firstinserted into the empty receptacle 10 (FIG. 2(a) and FIG. 2(b)) beforethe principal goods item 14 is then put in (FIG. 2(c)). In this case, asa matter of course in accordance with FIG. 1, a further enclosure cansubsequently be inserted and placed on top of the principal goods item14 so that enclosures are placed below and above the principal goodsitem 14.

Whilst in FIG. 1 only one enclosure is inserted into the receptacle 10,according to FIG. 3 a number of (similar or) different enclosures 15 and16 can be inserted. If this is done successively, a natural sequenceresults for the enclosures 15 and 16 placed on the principal goods item14, in which the first enclosure 15 to be inserted ends up underneaththe subsequently inserted enclosure 16.

However, if the enclosures 15, 16 are small in relation to the lateraldimensions of the receptacle 10, it is also conceivable (FIG. 4) thatthe enclosures 15, 16 may be placed on the principal goods item 14 aseparately from one another (or overlapping) in order for example toimprove access to the individual enclosures.

However, instead of inserting different enclosures into the receptacle10 one after the other, an enclosure pack can be formed prior toinsertion from a number of enclosures 15, 16 by a separate collectingprocess, which enclosure pack can subsequently be inserted into thereceptacle 10 in a single inserting operation (FIG. 5).

In a simplified three-dimensional view, FIG. 6 shows a simple exemplaryembodiment of an inserting station 20 according to the invention with aheight-adjustable dispensing tongue 21 which inserts enclosures oneafter another (a) to (c) in receptacles 10 b, 10 c, 10 d of differentheights. The inserting station 20 is arranged on a transportation device17 which extends in a transport direction and forms a transport plane,in which the receptacles 10 b to 10 d are moved past the insertingstation 20. The transportation device 17 can be for example a conveyorbelt, or, as shown in FIG. 6, a roller conveyor which is either activelydriven, or on which the receptacles move by themselves on a gradient byvirtue of gravitational forces. An active drive system makes itsignificantly easier to coordinate the motion of the insertion processwith the (matching) transport speed of the receptacles.

An important part of the inserting station 20 is the dispensing tongue21 which forms the inserting body with which flat enclosures inparticular can be conveyed diagonally downwards between an upperconveyor belt and a lower conveyor belt (21 a and 21 b in FIG. 7)towards the receptacle which is moving past and dispensed at the lowerfree end of the dispensing tongue 21 and inserted into the openreceptacle. At the upper end the dispensing tongue 21 is pivotablymounted about a horizontal pivot axis which lies transversely to thetransport direction, so that the free lower end of the dispensing tongue21 can be moved up and down around this pivot axis.

A separator 19 is arranged at the upper end of the dispensing tongue 21,which dispenses the enclosures 15 to the dispensing tongue 21individually and in time with the receptacles 10 b-d as they move past,and from which they are conveyed diagonally downwards to and thereinserted into the open receptacle. The separator 19 can be loaded with astack of enclosures which are then separated and forwarded on.

In FIG. 6, the receptacles 20 b-d which are moved past the insertingstation 20 one after another, are (in order to fit the principal goodsitems 14 to be accommodated by them) of different sizes and above all ofdifferent heights. In order, nevertheless, to make possible a safeinsertion of the receptacles, regardless of their size and height, thereceptacles are on the one hand aligned with the fixedly arrangeddispensing tongue 21 in their position on the transport plane. On theother hand, the height of the free end of the dispensing tongue 21 isaligned with the height of the next receptacle to be filled so that thefree end of the dispensing tongue 21 is a sufficient distance from thetop edge of the receptacle. However, in order to make possible a safeand controlled insertion, the distance must not be too great, inparticular if the enclosure is just a printed page (invoice, operatinginstructions, etc.).

The orientation of the free end of the dispensing tongue 21 iscontrolled in accordance with a height measurement which is carried outin relation to the incoming receptacles before they reach the insertingstation 20. A height sensor (27 in FIG. 7) is provided (but not shown inFIG. 6) for this purpose which, as a distance sensor or height sensitivelight barrier, determines the position of the upper edge(s) of theincoming receptacle and, if necessary, initiates an appropriate pivotingaction of the dispensing tongue 21 in a timely manner.

In FIG. 6(a) a very flat receptacle 10 b is approaching the insertingstation 20 and the dispensing tongue 21 is correspondingly pivoteddownwards so that the enclosure 15 can be safely put into the receptacle10 b (FIG. 6(b)).

The next receptacle 20 c is, in contrast, very large and tall. To matchthis the dispensing tongue 21 is pivoted upwards in order to ensure asafe inserting process (FIG. 6(c)). The process is then repeated for thenext, medium-sized, receptacle 10 d.

FIG. 7 shows the block diagram of an inserting system 30 according to anexemplary embodiment of the invention for the commissioning ofenclosures for corresponding principal goods items. The inserting system30 depicted comprises a transportation device 17 with which an insertingbody in the form of a dispensing tongue 21 works in cooperation. Thediagonally downward oriented dispensing tongue 21 comprises an upperconveyor belt 21 a and a lower conveyor belt 21 b, between which theenclosures are conveyed to the transportation device 17. The enclosuresare individually inserted into the dispensing tongue 21 by a separator19. The separator 19 receives the enclosures from a bar feeder 25 (fore.g. in an overlapping arrangement). Alternatively, a printing station26 can be deployed which prints out specific enclosures in the contextof the order (invoices, covering letters etc.) and sends them to theseparator 19.

At the same time a motorized pivoting device for the dispensing tongue21 is arranged on the separator 19. The pivoting actions and conveyingpower of the dispensing tongue 21 are controlled by an insertioncontroller 24 which on the one hand receives data concerning the heightof the receptacle to be filled from a height sensor 27 and on the otherhand receives control commands from a commissioning system 22. Thecommissioning system 22 is coupled to a data memory 23 in which data(names, addresses etc.) relating to customers or recipients of thecommissioned goods is saved in the form of a database. Orders for thecommissioning are received at the order intake 28 of the commissioningsystem 22. The transportation device 17 can be directly controlled bythe commissioning system 22, but also alternatively by the insertioncontroller 24.

FIG. 8 shows a simplified inserting station working according to theinvention at which a separator 19 for the enclosures is arranged on astand 31 laterally and transversely in relation to the transportdirection of the transportation device 17. Here, the dispensing tongue21 which is oriented parallel to the transport direction ortransportation device 17 is connected to the separator 19 by a cornerconveyor 29 which further conveys the transversely placed enclosures inthe transport direction to the dispensing tongue 21.

The configuration shown in the FIG. 8 makes it possible, in accordancewith FIG. 9, to feed the enclosures by means of a bar feeder 32,arranged transversely in relation to the transportation device 17, in aspace-saving, overlapping stream or similar to the separator 19 and thenindividually via the corner conveyor 29 to the dispensing tongue 21 atan inserting station 33. In addition, if flat enclosures such asprospectuses, flyers or similar are involved, piles of the enclosurescan, for example, be placed on the bar feeder 32 by operating personneland then conveyed to the separator 19 in a coordinated manner.

In order either to automatically fill different receptacles 10 withdiffering enclosures or to successively insert different enclosures intoa single receptacle or to insert similar enclosures repeatedly, a numberof preferably similar inserting stations 33 a-f can be arranged oneafter the other along the transportation device 17 in an inserting plant34 in accordance with FIG. 10. Each of the inserting stations 33 a-f hasa dispensing tongue of its own which automatically sets its height tothe height of the incoming receptacles 10 and which inserts theenclosures fed to it by the bar feeder into the receptacle provided forthat purpose. FIG. 10 further shows that a number of conveyor branches17 a, 17 b can be merged together into the transportation device 17ahead of the inserting plant 34, in order to bring together receptacleswhich come from different warehouses or storage facilities for theinsertion of the enclosures in the inserting plant 34.

However, it is also conceivable that, in accordance with FIG. 11,different enclosures can be assembled into enclosure packs viaappropriate placing stations 36 a,b, 37 a,b, and 38 a,b, in an insertingplant 40 before being inserted, in that they are transferred into acollecting device 39 and then inserted into a passing receptacle by adispensing tongue 21 of the type already described above arranged at theoutput end of the collecting device 39. In the example shown, thecollecting device 39 is formed as a conveyor belt, on which theenclosures to be collected are placed one after another. Thetransportation device 17 can, as indicated by the example in FIG. 11,lead, after the inserting plant 40, via a curve to devices which servefurther processing.

FIG. 12a shows a lateral view of a further exemplary embodiment of aninserting station 41 with a dispensing tongue 42 which has a first limb421 and a second limb 422 which are connected by a joint 423. The firstlimb 421 is pivotably connected about a first horizontal pivot axis H1and via a corner conveyor 29 to a separator 19. The joint 423 defines asecond horizontal pivot axis H2 about which the free end 424 of thedispensing tongue 42 or the second limb 422 can be pivoted. The joint423 in turn can be pivoted about the first horizontal pivot axis H1. Thefirst limb has an upper conveyor 421 a and a lower conveyor 421 b andthe second limb has an upper conveyor 422 a and a lower conveyor 422 bbetween which the enclosures 15 are conveyed by means of conveyor belts425, 426 moving counter to each other. The joint 423 has lower joints423 a, 423 b with deflection rollers which connect the upper conveyor421 a, 422 a or the lower conveyor 421 b, 422 b of the first and secondlimbs 421, 422. The conveyor belts 425, 426 are designed so that theyrun continuously over the lower joints 423 a, 423 b. FIG. 12a shows thedispensing tongue 42 in a configuration with an insertion height whichis tailored to the height of the receptacle 10 g which is being drivenpast the inserting station 41 by means of the transportation device 17.The receptacle 10 g has a main goods item 14 with which or onto whichthe enclosure 15 should be placed.

FIG. 12b shows a lateral view of the inserting station 41 in FIG. 12a ,wherein the height of the free end 424 of the dispensing tongue 42 hasbeen adjusted because of the higher receptacle 10 h. In comparison withthe configuration in FIG. 12a , the dispensing tongue 42 is set up witha greater insertion height, wherein the height of the free end 424 ofthe dispensing tongue 42 arranged on the second limb 422 has beenadjusted along the vertical path A by means of a combined pivotingmotion of the first limb 421 and the second limb 422.

It is claimed:
 1. A method for automatically inserting enclosures (15,16) into a receptacle (10; 10 a-h) which is provided for accommodating aprincipal item of goods (14), the method comprising: moving the openreceptacle (10; 10 a-h 10 a-h) past a stationary inserting station (20,33; 33 a-f, 41) in a transport direction (13); inserting at least oneenclosure (15, 16) during that passing the inserting station (20, 33; 33a-f, 41) from the inserting station (20, 33; 33 a-f, 41) into the openreceptacle (10; 10 a-h 10 a-h).
 2. The method according to claim 1,wherein during insertion into the receptacle (10; 10 a-h 10 a-h), the atleast one enclosure (15, 16) is moved along with the receptacle (10; 10a-h).
 3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising moving thereceptacle (10; 10 a-h) past the inserting station (20, 33; 33 a-f, 41)at a predetermined transport speed, and that during insertion the atleast one enclosure (15, 16) is moved at a speed matching that of thereceptacle's (10; 10 a-h) transport speed.
 4. The method according toclaim 1, further comprising moving the receptacle (10; 10 a-h) past theinserting station (20, 33; 33 a-f, 41) on a transport plane (12), whilethe receptacle (10; 10 a-h) is open at the top, and inserting the atleast one enclosure (15, 16) into the receptacle (10; 10 a-h) fromabove.
 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the insertion of theat least one enclosure (15, 16) is carried out from a predeterminedinsertion height, that receptacles (10; 10 a-h) of successivelydifferent heights are filled with at least one enclosure (15, 16), andthat the respective predetermined insertion heights are automaticallyset to the height of the receptacle to be filled.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 5, wherein the height of the receptacle (10; 10 a-h)to be filled is determined before the at least one enclosure (15, 16) isinserted.
 7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the insertion ofthe at least one enclosure (15, 16) is done by means of an insertingbody (21, 42) and that the setting of the insertion height is carriedout at the inserting body (21, 42).
 8. The method according to claim 7,wherein the inserting body (21, 42) is arranged above the transportplane (12) in a pivotable manner relative to the transport plane (12),and that the setting of the insertion height is carried out by pivotingand/or telescoping the inserting body (21, 42).
 9. The method accordingto claim 7, further comprising: arranging a longitudinal dispensingtongue (21, 42) of the inserting body above the transportation device(17) to dispense the enclosure (15) to be inserted at a free end (424),wherein the dispensing tongue (21, 42) is pivoted about a horizontalpivot axis (H1) in order to adjust the height of the free end (424). 10.The method according to claim 9, wherein the dispensing tongue (42) ispivoted and/or telescoped in such a way that the height of the free end(424) is adjusted along a vertical path (A).
 11. The method according toclaim 9, wherein the dispensing tongue (42) includes a first limb (421)and a second limb (422), which are connected by a joint (423) whichdefines a second horizontal pivot axis (H2), wherein the free end (424)is arranged on the second limb (422) and is pivoted about the secondhorizontal pivot axis (H2) in order to adjust the height, wherein thejoint (423) is pivoted about the first horizontal pivot axis (H1). 12.The method according to claim 1, wherein the insertion of the at leastone enclosure (15, 16) into the open receptacle (10; 10 a-h) occursdiagonally downwards in the transport direction (13).
 13. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the receptacle (10; 10 a-h) is initiallyfilled with the principal goods item (14), and that the at least oneenclosure (15, 16) is subsequently inserted into the open receptacle(10; 10 a-h).
 14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the at leastone enclosure (15, 16) is placed on the inserted principal goods item(14).
 15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least oneenclosure (15, 16) is initially inserted into the open receptacle (10;10 a-h), and that the receptacle (10; 10 a-h) is subsequently filledwith the principal goods item (14).
 16. The method according to claim 1,wherein several enclosures (15, 16) are inserted into the receptacle(10; 10 a-h).
 17. The method according to claim 16, wherein theenclosures (15, 16) are inserted into the receptacle (10; 10 a-h) oneafter another at different inserting stations (20, 33; 33 a-f, 41). 18.The method according to claim 16, wherein the enclosures (15, 16) areinitially put together in an enclosure pack, and that the enclosure packis subsequently inserted into the receptacle (10; 10 a-h) at aninserting station.
 19. A device for carrying out the method according toclaim 1, comprising a transportation device (17) for transporting theopen receptacles (10; 10 a-h) on a transport plane (12) in a transportdirection (13) at a predetermined transport speed, on whichtransportation device (17) at least one inserting station (20, 33; 33a-f, 41) is arranged which comprises an inserting body (21, 42) forinserting an enclosure (15, 16) in a receptacle (10; 10 a-h) which ismoved past the inserting station (20, 33; 33 a-f, 41) on thetransportation device (17).
 20. The device according to claim 19,wherein the inserting body comprises a longitudinal dispensing tongue(21, 42) arranged above the transportation device (17) which dispensesthe enclosures (15, 16) to be inserted at a free end (424).
 21. Thedevice according to claim 20, wherein the dispensing tongue (21, 42) isaligned parallel with the transport direction (13) and extendsdiagonally downwards in the transport direction in such a way that thefree end (424) of the dispensing tongue (21, 42) is located at thebottom.
 22. The device according to claim 20, wherein the free end (424)of the dispensing tongue (21, 42) is designed to be height adjustable.23. The device according to claim 22, wherein the dispensing tongue (21,42) can be pivoted about a first horizontal pivot axis (H1) in order toadjust the height of the free end (424).
 24. The device according toclaim 23, wherein the dispensing tongue (42) can be pivoted and/ortelescoped in such a way that the height of the free end (424) can beadjusted along a vertical path (A).
 25. The device according to claim23, wherein the dispensing tongue (42) includes a first limb (421) and asecond limb (422) which are connected by a joint (423) which defines asecond horizontal pivot axis (H2), wherein the free end (424) isarranged on the second limb (422) and can be pivoted about the secondhorizontal pivot axis (H2), wherein the joint (423) can be pivoted aboutthe first horizontal pivot axis (H1).
 26. The device according to claim19, further comprising a separator (19) upstream of the inserting body(21, 42) which transfers individual enclosures (15, 16) to the insertingbody (21, 42).
 27. The device according to claim 26, further comprisinga bar feeder (25, 32) upstream of the separator (19) which delivers tothe separator (19) enclosures (15, 16) to be inserted.
 28. The deviceaccording to claim 19, further comprising a number of inserting stations(33 a-f, 41) arranged one after another along the transportation device(17), and wherein each of the inserting stations (33 a-f, 41) includesits own inserting body (21, 42).
 29. The device according to claim 19,wherein the inserting station is associated with a collection device(39) which by collecting a number of enclosures forms an enclosure packand forwards it to the inserting body (21, 42).
 30. The device accordingto claim 29, wherein a number of placing stations (36 a,b; 37 a,b; 38a,b) for the enclosures (15, 16) are associated with the collectiondevice (39).